Content server and method of providing content therefrom

ABSTRACT

A method of presenting content, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes receiving a request for an item of content and selectively verifying ownership of the requested content. If verification of ownership is not to be performed for the particular request, the item of content may be served. If ownership is substantiated for the particular request, the content may also be served. If ownership is not substantiated for the particular request, the content may be purged. Ownership verification may be by access to a physical copy of the content (e.g., DVD, CD or the like).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic systems are often utilized to present any of a vast array ofcontent to a user. The convenience of having content more readilyaccessible typically results in the user accessing the content moreoften and may also result in the user acquiring ever-increasing amountsof content. Accordingly, content servers have advantageously beenutilized to make content more readily accessible to users.

A content server typically provides for loading content onto a massstorage device and presenting the content stored thereon. Referring toFIG. 1, a flow diagram of steps of a method of storing content on acontent server according to the conventional art is shown. As depictedin FIG. 1, the method of storing content begins with receiving content,at 110. For example, a user may insert a DVD containing a movie or a CDcontaining music in the CD/DVD drive of the content server. The contentmay be received in a protected format, such as content scrambling system(CSS) encryption or the like. If the received content is encoded in aprotected format, the protection is removed from the content, at 120.For example, a disk key contained on the DVD or CD may be used todecrypt the CSS encoded music or movie. The unprotected content is thenstored on a mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, at 130.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of steps of a method ofpresenting the content stored on the content server according to theconventional art is shown. As depicted in FIG. 2, the method ofpresenting content begins with receiving a request for a particular itemof content, at 210. The particular item of content may be stored on amass storage device. At 220, the requested content is presented on anappropriate output device to the user.

Traditional systems for communicating and storing content often makecopying of proprietary content relatively easy. For example, it is notuncommon for a user of the above-described content server to rent moviesand/or music on DVDs and/or CDs and load them onto their system. Theuser may then return the DVDs or CDs, and yet continue to illegallywatch the movies and/or listen to the music after the rental period hasexpired. Similarly, a user may borrow movies and/or music from othersand load them onto their content server. The user may then return theDVD or CD to the person that they borrowed it from, and yet continue toillegally watch the movies and/or listen to the music thereafter.Accordingly, conventional content servers readily enable rent-and-rip,borrow-and-rip and the like.

However, creators and/or distributors of proprietary content (e.g.,movies, music, etc.) have an economic interest in the content and desireto restrict the copying and/or distribution of the proprietary contentto individuals that have purchased or rented the content in accordancewith the nature of the user's ownership. Thus, content servers accordingto the conventional art are problematic in that the interests of thecreators and/or distributors of proprietary content are not protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are directed toward asystem and method of serving content. In one embodiment, a contentserver includes a content output device, a mass storage device and aprocessing unit communicatively coupled between the content input deviceand the mass storage device. The processing unit implements a contentserver module for receiving a request for an item of content stored onthe mass storage device. The content server module selectively verifiesownership of the requested item of content. The requested item ofcontent may be served if ownership is substantiated, or if ownership isnot to be verified for the particular request. The requested item ofcontent may be purged if ownership is not substantiated. Ownership maybe substantiated by access to an original physical copy of the content(e.g., DVD, CD or the like).

In another embodiment, a method of presenting content includes receivinga request for an item of content and selectively verifying ownership ofthe requested content. If ownership is not to be performed for theparticular request, the item of content may be served. If ownership issubstantiated for the particular request, the content may also beserved. If ownership is not substantiated for the particular request,the content may be purged or otherwise rendered inaccessible.

Embodiments of the present invention advantageously balance userconvenience and the economic interests of content creators and/ordistributors. Embodiments of the present invention are sensitive to useractions or functions and may advantageously learn that the content isowned and may thereafter be served without restriction. Accordingly,embodiments of the present invention advantageously facilitateconvenient and secure distribution of proprietary content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of exampleand not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elementsand in which:

FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of steps of a method of storing content on acontent server according to the conventional art.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of steps of a method of presenting contentstored on the content server according to the conventional art.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of steps of a method of storing content, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of steps of a method of serving content, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a system for storing and servingcontent, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction withthese embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended tolimit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the inventionis intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, whichmay be included within the scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description ofthe present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,it is understood that the present invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detailas not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of steps of a method of storingcontent, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, isshown. Content, as used hereinafter, may include digital informationsuch as text, graphics, audio, sound, images, video, movies, music,applications, games and/or the like. As depicted in FIG. 3, the methodbegins with receiving content and one or more keys, at 310. The contentmay be received in a protected format or an unprotected format. In oneimplementation, protected content may be received in an encryptedformat, such as content scrambling system (CSS) encryption or the like.In one implementation, the content may be received on a physical mediumsuch as a compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), memory cardor the like. The particular instance of the physical medium, from whicha particular item of content was loaded onto the server from, isreferred herein as the “original physical medium.” In anotherimplementation, the content may be received by any well-known signalingmethod such as electromagnetic, electrical, optical or the like (e.g.,electronic transmission). Receiving content utilizing electronictransmission may enable content-on-demand, receiving new releases via abackground download, and the like, without the user having to acquirethe physical medium first.

In one implementation, a first key may be present on the physical medium(e.g., DVD, CD, flash memory card, etc.) containing the content anduniquely identifies the instance of the item of content. For example,the first key may be a disk key that uniquely identifies the contentcontained on the disk. The first key may alternatively be included withthe transmitted content or the like and uniquely identifies the instanceof the item of content. The keys may also include a second key that isdynamically generated by the content input device utilized for receivingthe content. The second key may be unique to each transaction on thecontent input device. For example the second key may be a bus keyprovided by the media player (e.g., DVD drive, CD drive, card reader,etc.), transceiver (e.g., communication port, network interface card,etc.) or the like. A unique serialized key, which is generated each timethe rip mechanism is executed, may also be utilized to provideportability.

At 320, the content may be stored on a mass storage device (e.g., harddisk drive). If the content is in a protected format, it is stored inits protected format. In one implementation, the received CSS encryptedcontent is copied to the mass storage device. Accordingly, it isappreciated that the particular protection mechanism of the proprietarycontent is maintained. At 330, the one or more keys associated with thecontent may be encoded in a safeguarded format and stored on the massstorage device. The keys may be encoded utilizing any well-knownencryption algorithm. In one implementation, the disk key and the buskey may each be encrypted and hidden on the mass storage device.

It is appreciated that the mass storage device may also containpreloaded encrypted content. One or more encrypted keys related to thepreloaded content may also be hidden on the mass storage device.Alternatively, the keys may be purchased and “downloaded” later from aremote “key server” or registry using some kind of 2-way network, suchas Internet, satellite with a backchannel (e.g., DirecTV connected to aphone line so that one may order on-demand movies through the regularphone network), cellular or the like.

It is appreciated that a user interface (e.g., graphical user interface)may be provided to readily enable a user to load content onto the massstorage device in accordance with the above described processes. Theuser interface may also enable a user to purchase or rent content thatis being loaded onto the mass storage device. The interface may alsoenable purchase of rental content that has previously been loaded ontothe mass storage device or payment for an extension of the rentalperiod. The interface may also enable purchase or rental of content thathas been preloaded onto the mass storage device. The user interface mayalso enable purchase of credits to be applied to accessing any one ormore items of content on the mass storage device as and when the userchooses. A transaction system may also be implemented by the userinterface to enable the above-described transactions.

It is appreciated that one or more keys may contain a field thatidentifies the type of content, such as purchased content, rentedcontent, preloaded content, offered content (e.g. for rent or for sale)or the like. The identifier of the type of content contained in a keymay be utilized for such functions as purchasing the rented content,extending the rental period of rented content, renting or purchasingpreloaded content, renting or purchasing offered content, and/or thelike.

Furthermore, it is appreciated that the protection scheme of theoriginal form of the content is substantially preserved. Accordingly,the stored content may be thought of as a virtual copy of the content.The one or more keys needed for playing the content are not accessible.Therefore, the method of storing content on a server, in accordance withthe present invention, advantageously prevents extraction of the contentback off the mass storage device, because the content remains encryptedand it is useless without the hidden encrypted keys. Thus, a user cannoteffectively get such content off the server (e.g., play the content)without the decryption keys.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram of steps of a method of servingcontent, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, isshown. As depicted in FIG. 4, the method begins with receiving a requestto serve one or more particular items of content, at 410. The requestmay be to play an item of content (e.g., movie, music, video game, etc.)saved on the mass storage device. In one implementation a user interface(e.g., graphical user interface) may be provided to enable a user toselect a particular item of content stored on the mass storage device.

It is appreciated that the user interface (UI) may provide a drill-downtype menu for selecting content stored on the mass storage device. Forexample, a first level may present various choices of content types,such as movies on the server, music on the server, television, internet,and/or the like. A second level may present categorical choices ofcontent on the server, such as comedy, drama, actor, director,suggestion and/or the like. A third level may present a grid ofthumbnails, wherein each thumbnail corresponds to a particular item ofcontent on the server for a selected category.

It is appreciated that each item of content may be represented by athumbnail or as a combination of text and a corresponding thumbnail. Thethumbnail may be, for example, a still picture of an album cover formusic, a still picture of a DVD jacket, a still picture of a scene fromthe movie, or the like. In addition, the thumbnail may be a videopreview of a movie or may be a still picture of a scene and when theuser causes a pointer to pass over the thumbnail or highlights thethumbnail a video preview may play. The thumbnail for use in the UI maybe contained as part of the content when it is loaded on the system.

It is appreciated that a particular menu level, composed of a grid ofthumbnails, may be dynamically scaled as a function of the view size ofthe display screen. The grid of thumbnails for a menu level mayconstitute a virtual display. Only a portion of the virtual display mayactually be displayed on the physical screen. The virtual display maythen be navigated such that a given portion is displayed on the physicalscreen.

It is appreciated that the system, via the user interface, may collect ahistory of content viewed by a user and suggest content based upon thepast viewing history. The history may be collected on a per viewerbasis. The suggestions may be present as a function of a hierarchy basedupon the current viewers and/or the relative ranking of their individualand/or collective past viewing history.

At 420, ownership of the requested particular content may be selectivelyverified. The ownership of the content may be verified by requestingthat the user provide evidence of ownership. In one implementation,ownership may be verified by requesting that the original physicalmedium (e.g., DVD, CD, memory card, etc.) be reinserted into the contentinput device. The keys on the reinserted medium may be compared to theencrypted keys hidden on the mass storage device. In anotherimplementation, verification of ownership may be implemented by checkinga registration database. The registration database may enableassociation of content with a given user or device uponproof-of-purchase, such as a unique serial number received by the userand/or device when the content has been purchased or rented. Theregistration database may thus provide authentication that the contentas identified by the disk key has been registered for access by thesystem as identified by the bus key.

Ownership may be selectively verified a predetermined number of times.In one implementation, each verification request may be made after afixed period of time (e.g., days, weeks, months, etc.). In anotherimplementation, each verification request may be made after a randomperiod of time. In another implementation, each verification request maybe made after a random number of requests for the particular content. Inone implementation, the predetermined number of times may be a fixednumber of times for each item of content. In another implementation, thepredetermined number of times may be a random number of times for eachitem of content. One or more of the above implementations may also becombined.

It is appreciated that one or more keys may contain a field thatidentifies the type of content, such as purchased content, rentedcontent, preloaded content, offered content (e.g. for rent or for sale)or the like. The identifier of the type of content contained in a keymay be utilized to adjust the selective verification of ownership inaccordance with the nature of the content type.

It is appreciated that a registry, such as an interne based registrationservice, may be utilized to enable activation of content on one or moredevices or transfer of content from one user to another. The registry(e.g., database) may associate instances of a particular item of content(e.g., disk key) with a particular owner (e.g., user ID, device ID). Forexample, a user may have the content on a plurality of systems, such asa home content server and a vacation home server system. In such case,the registry may be utilized to enable access to the content on only onesystem at a time by limiting association of the disk key with a selectnumber of device identifiers. In another implementation, the registryenables an owner of a particular instance of content to sell it toanother person. The transaction may be based upon a unique serializedkey stored on the mass storage device and contained in the registry. Inyet another implementation, the registry may enable the content to bestreamed (e.g., served) to a portable device, such as a phone, laptopcomputer or the like, at any number of locations across any network(e.g., virtual player).

At 430, if ownership of the content is not to be validated at 420 forthe given request, the requested content may be decrypted and presented.At 440, if ownership of the particular content is substantiated, therequested content may be decrypted and presented. At 450, if ownershipof the particular content is not substantiated, the request may bedenied. Furthermore, if ownership of the particular content is notsubstantiated, the requested content may also be purged or otherwiserendered unselectable, an error message may be generated, a transactionsystem may be invoked, or the like.

Typically, process 420 may be repeated for each of a predeterminednumber of times with regard to requests for each given item of content.If ownership of the particular content is substantiated each of apredetermined number of times, the ownership may be consideredcorroborated. If ownership of the particular content is corroborated,ownership may not need to be validated again. Thereafter, a request forcontent, wherein ownership has been corroborated, may be served to theuser, at 430, without further validation processes.

In an exemplary implementation, a first verification request may be madea random one of a number of plays after a first fixed period of time.The first fixed period of time may be measured from when the particularcontent was loaded onto the system. The first fixed period of time maybe selected based upon a criterion such as the typical rental period(e.g., 10 days). A second verification request may be made a random oneof number of plays after the expiration of a second fixed period. Thesecond fixed period of time (e.g., 30 days) may be greater than thefirst fixed period of time, to reduce the inconvenience factor to theuser. A third and final verification request may be made a random one ofa number of plays after the expiration of a third fixed period. Thethird fixed period of time (e.g., 100 days) may be greater than thesecond fixed period of time, to further reduce the inconvenience factorto the user. Thereafter, the system will have been “taught” thatownership has been corroborated and subsequent requests for the samecontent can be served without verifying ownership.

Accordingly, the method balances convenience for the user with theeconomic interests of the content creator and/or distributor. Forexample, if the content is a rented DVD, the user may load the movie onthe system and view it any number of time during the ten-day period ofthe rental without having to reinsert the DVD each time. After therental period, the user will have returned the DVD. Thus, if the userattempts to continue watching the movie, the system will eventuallyrequest reinsertion of the DVD. However, ownership will not besubstantiated because the rental DVD has been returned and thus the userwill be unable to reinsert it. If ownership is not substantiated thesystem may purge the content.

If the content has been purchased by the user and loaded on the system,the user will have possession of the DVD. Therefore, when requested ateach of the random number of plays during three increasing periods oftime, the user will be able to substantiate ownership by reinserting theDVD. It can be inferred that there is a substantial likelihood that theuser owns the content from the fact that the user was able to providethe original physical medium containing the content each time. The user,on the other hand, does not have to in most cases insert the DVD whenthey want to watch the movie.

If the content has been borrowed, the user may be able to watch it for ashort period of time. However, at some point in time the user willlikely have returned the DVD to the actual owner. Thus, because the usercannot reliable predict when they are going to be requested to reinsertthe DVD, the system will likely be able to determine that the content isnot owned by the user of the system and therefore purge it.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention advantageously balanceuser convenience and the economic interests of content creators and/ordistributors. Ownership of requested content can be selectively verifiedbefore the requested content is presented. If ownership is notsubstantiated, the content may be purged from the system. Furthermore,if ownership is successfully substantiated a number of times, the systemmay be taught that the content is owned and verification need not beperformed again.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram of a system for storing andserving content, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention, is shown. The system 500 may be implemented on a personalcomputer, a server, a client, a laptop computer, a media center PC, apersonal entertainment center, a set top box, a game console, a personaldigital assistant, a cellular telephone, a portable wireless appliance,and/or the like. As depicted in FIG. 5, the system includes one or morecontent input devices 510, a processing unit 520, a mass storage device530 (e.g., computer readable medium) and one or more content outputdevices 540. The system 500 may also include one or more generalinput/output devices 550. It is appreciated that the content inputdevices 510 and content output devices 540 may be particular units ofthe general input/output devices 550. The system 500 may also becommunicatively coupled to a communication channel 560, for receivingcontent utilizing any well-known signaling method.

The processing unit 520 may be communicatively coupled to the generalI/O device 550, the content input device 510, the mass storage device530 and the content output device 540. The content input device 510 maybe a compact disk (CD) drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, amemory card reader and/or the like. The content output device 540 may bea display, monitor, television, projector, speaker, headphone, brailreader and/or the like. The mass storage device 530 may be a hard diskdrive (HDD), portable storage device/card (e.g., USB drive and otherflash-based memory) or the like. The general I/O devices 550 may be akeyboard, pointing device, monitor, speaker, brail reader and/or thelike.

The processing unit 520 provides one or more function modules byoperating on instructions (e.g., computer executable code) andinformation (e.g., data) stored in memory (e.g., computer-readablemedium). The function modules may include a content storage module 522,a content server module 524 and a user interface module 526. The contentstorage module 522 may receive content via the content input device 510or the communication channel 560 (e.g., network). The content may bereceived in a protected or unprotected format. The user interface module526 may enable a user to cause the content storage module 522 to loadthe content onto the mass storage device 530.

If the content is received in a protected format, the content storagemodule 522 may also receive one or more keys. The keys may include afirst key unique to the content and a second key that may be dynamicallygenerated by the content input device 510. The content storage module522 may store the content in its protected format and the one or morekeys in a safeguarded format on the mass storage device 530.

The content server module 524 may receive a request for a particularitem of content stored on the mass storage device 530 via the userinterface module 526. The content server module 524 may selectivelyverify ownership of the requested content utilizing the one or more keyscorresponding to the requested content, which are stored on the massstorage device 530. If ownership of the content is validated, thecontent server module 524 outputs the requested content on the contentoutput device 540 utilizing the one or more keys corresponding to thecontent, which are stored on the mass storage device 530. If ownershipof the content is not validated, the content server module 524 may purgethe particular content from the mass storage device.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention advantageously preventextraction of server stored content back off the mass storage device.Embodiments of the present invention advantageously balance userconvenience and the economic interests of content creators and/ordistributors. Embodiments of the present invention thus advantageouslyfacilitate convenient and secure distribution of proprietary content.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical application,to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize theinvention and various embodiments with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scopeof the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing content comprising:Receiving, by a processor, a given request to serve a copy of an item ofcontent on a mass storage device; selectively verifying ownership ofsaid item of content by access to an original physical medium of theitem of content a predetermined multiple number of times, wherein thepredetermined multiple number of times is greater than two, over aplurality of times said item of content is requested, wherein saidplurality of times is greater than said predetermined multiple number oftimes and ownership of said item is not verified again if ownership issubstantiated said predetermined multiple number of times, wherein saidselectively verifying ownership comprises directly, comparing one ormore keys on said original physical medium to one or more encrypted keyshidden on said mass storage device; wherein said selectively verifyingownership comprises at least a first verification request wherein thefirst verification request is made a random number of plays after afirst fixed period of time and a second verification request wherein thesecond verification request is made a random number of plays after asecond fixed period of time, wherein the second fixed period of time isgreater than the first fixed period of time; serving said item ofcontent for said given request if said verifying ownership is notperformed for said given request; serving said item of content for saidgiven request if ownership is substantiated for said given request bysaid comparing one or more keys on said original physical medium to oneor more encrypted keys hidden on said mass storage device; and servingsaid item of content for said given request if ownership has alreadybeen substantiated said predetermined multiple number of times.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said item of content is digitalinformation and is selected from the group consisting of text, graphics,audio, sound, image, video, movie, music, application, and game.
 3. Anon-transitory computer readable medium containing a plurality ofinstructions which when executed cause a system to implement a method ofpresenting content comprising: a) Receiving, by a processor, a givenrequest to serve a copy of an item of content on a mass storage device;b) selectively verifying ownership of said item of content by access toan original physical medium of the item of content a predeterminedmultiple number of times, wherein the predetermined multiple number oftimes is greater than two, over a plurality of times said item ofcontent is requested, wherein said plurality of times is greater thansaid predetermined multiple number of times and ownership of said itemis not verified again if ownership is substantiated said predeterminedmultiple number of times, wherein said selectively verifying ownershipcomprises directly, comparing one or more keys on said original physicalmedium to one or more encrypted keys hidden on said mass storage device;wherein said selectively verifying ownership comprises at least a firstverification request wherein the first verification request is made arandom number of plays after a first fixed period of time and a secondverification request wherein the second verification request is made arandom number of plays after a second fixed period of time, wherein thesecond fixed period of time is greater than the first fixed period oftime; c) serving said item of content for said given request if saidverifying ownership is not performed for said given request; d) servingsaid item of content for said given request if ownership issubstantiated for said given request by said comparing one or more keyson said original physical medium to one or more encrypted keys hidden onsaid mass storage device; and e) serving said item of content for saidgiven request if ownership has already been substantiated saidpredetermined multiple number of times; f) denying said request for saiditem of content if ownership is not substantiated at said b) in responseto said given request to serve said item of content.
 4. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 3, whereinsaid method further comprises: g) purging said item of content ifownership is not substantiated at said b).
 5. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 3, wherein said item ofcontent is selected from the group consisting of text, graphics, audio,sound, image, video, movie, music, application, and game.
 6. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 3, whereinownership is verified if a key on said physical media corresponds to akey on said mass storage device.
 7. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium according to claim 3, wherein selectively requesting evidence ofownership of said item of content further comprises requesting evidenceafter a third random number of requests after a third fixed period oftime.
 8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim7, wherein: said second fixed period of time is greater than said firstfixed period of time; and said third fixed period of time is greaterthan said second fixed period of time.
 9. A system for storing contentcomprising: a content output device; a mass storage device; and aprocessing unit communicatively coupled to said content output deviceand said mass storage device, wherein said processing unit comprises acontent server module for receiving a given request for an item ofcontent stored on said mass storage device, for selectively verifyingownership of said item of content by access to an original physicalmedium of the item of content a predetermined multiple number of times,wherein the predetermined multiple number of times is greater than two,over a plurality of times said item of content is requested, whereinsaid plurality of times is greater than said predetermined multiplenumber of times and ownership of said item is not verified again ifownership is substantiated said predetermined multiple number of times,wherein said selectively verifying ownership comprises directly,comparing one or more keys on said original physical medium to one ormore encrypted keys hidden on said mass storage device; wherein saidselectively verifying ownership comprises at least a first verificationrequest wherein the first verification request is made a random numberof plays after a first fixed period of time and a second verificationrequest wherein the second verification request is made a random numberof plays after a second fixed period of time, wherein the second fixedperiod of time is greater than the first fixed period of time; servingsaid item of content for said given request if said verifying ownershipis not performed for said given request; serving said item of contentfor said given request if ownership is substantiated for said givenrequest by said comparing one or more keys on said original physicalmedium to one or more encrypted keys hidden on said mass storage device;and serving said item of content for said given request if ownership hasalready been substantiated said predetermined multiple number of times.10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a content input devicecommunicatively coupled to said processing unit for said receiving saidreinsertion of said original physical medium of said item of content.11. The system of claim 9, wherein said content server module furtherserves said item of content for said given request if said verifyingownership is not performed for said given request.
 12. The system ofclaim 9, wherein said content server module further purges saidrequested item of content if ownership is not substantiated.
 13. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein said content output device comprises one ormore devices selected from the group consisting of a display, a monitor,a television, a projector, a speaker, a headphone and a Braille reader.14. The system of claim 9, wherein said mass storage device comprises ahard disk drive.